What's at stake in the conflict between Israel and Iran?

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🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

The United States has worked for decades to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Now Israel says it is attacking Iran to remove that threat. What are the stakes in this conflict, not only for the two nations directly involved, but for the US and the world?

Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Aaron Stein, the President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute about those stakes and the history of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	As Israel and Iran continued to exchange deadly missile salvos, President Trump had a straightforward message.
0:07.6	This is him speaking to reporters aboard Air Force 1 early Tuesday morning.
0:12.0	Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
0:14.2	It's very simple.
0:15.7	You know, not to go too deep into it.
0:17.7	They just can't have a nuclear weapon.
0:19.6	Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That
0:22.4	has been U.S. policy for decades. Same with U.S. ally Israel, since Iran was first suspected of
0:29.5	working towards a nuclear weapon. We have refused to cooperate with Iran on sensitive matters,
0:34.1	such as nuclear energy, and have tightened trade restrictions on items that
0:37.7	might be used to build weapons. Then President Bill Clinton in 1995, speaking at an event
0:44.1	hosted by the World Jewish Congress. So tonight, in honor of, in this great dinner, in honor of
0:51.0	this champion of freedom, I am formally announcing my intention to cut off
0:56.5	all trade and investment with Iran. Fast forward 20 years. In 2015, President Obama announced
1:04.6	the Iran nuclear deal aimed at making sure Iran did not develop a nuclear weapon. With this deal, Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world.
1:15.5	The agreement required Iran to submit to checks from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
1:21.4	President Trump famously called it one of the worst deals the U.S. had ever entered.
1:25.9	He abandoned it during his first term in office.
1:28.9	But the overarching goal remained. Here's President Biden, speaking in 2022 in Jerusalem, with then
1:36.3	Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lepid. You and I also discussed the marriage commitment to ensuring
1:42.1	Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. This is a vital security
1:47.7	interest to both Israel and the United States, and I would add for the rest of the world as well.
	...

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